Stop Cash Shrink

A credit union (CU) is now the first financial institution (FI) in Massachusetts to offer banking services to recreational marijuana companies.

GFA Federal Credit Union revealed to The Boston Globe that it has decided to enter the sector after a year of research and preparations. The move will allow consumers to pay for marijuana with credit cards, while enabling those in the cannabis businesses to bypass the risks and expense of dealing in all cash. After careful research, Tina Sbrega, GFA’s chief executive, said her credit union decided it could legally — and profitably — provide banking services to these businesses, and that it would actually improve public safety.

“We’re looking at a cannabis business as a legitimate business that wants to be recognized as such and that, without banking services, presents a tremendous public safety issue in our communities,” Sbrega said. “Otherwise, you’re talking millions and millions of dollars of cash on the street.”